Pimavanserin tartrate

Pimavanserin, sold under the brand name Nuplazid, is an atypical antipsychotic which is approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease psychosis and is also being researched for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, schizophrenia, agitation, and major depressive disorder. Unlike other antipsychotics, pimavanserin is not a dopamine receptor antagonist. Pimavanserin, sold under the brand name Nuplazid, is an atypical antipsychotic which is approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease psychosis and is also being researched for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, schizophrenia, agitation, and major depressive disorder. Unlike other antipsychotics, pimavanserin is not a dopamine receptor antagonist. Pimavanserin acts as an inverse agonist and antagonist at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors with high binding affinity (Ki 0.087 nM) and at serotonin 5-HT2C receptors with lower binding affinity (Ki 0.44 nM). Pimavanserin shows low binding to σ1 receptors (Ki 120 nM) and has no appreciable affinity (Ki >300 nM) to serotonin 5-HT2B, dopamine (including D2), muscarinic acetylcholine, histamine, or adrenergic receptors, or to calcium channels. Pimavanserin has a unique mechanism of action relative to other antipsychotics, behaving as a selective inverse agonist of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, with 40-fold selectivity for this site over the 5-HT2C receptor and no significant affinity or activity at the 5-HT2B receptor or dopamine receptors. Pimavanserin was developed by Acadia Pharmaceuticals. Pimavanserin is expected to improve the effectiveness and side effect profile of antipsychotics. The results of a clinical trial examining the efficacy, tolerability and safety of adjunctive pimavanserin to risperidone and haloperidol were published in November 2012, and the results showed that pimavanserin potentiated the antipsychotic effects of subtherapeutic doses of risperidone and improved the tolerability of haloperidol treatment by reducing the incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms. The drug met expectations for a Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson's disease psychosis, and has completed Phase II trials for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia alongside an antipsychotic medication. On September 2, 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy status to Acadia's New Drug Application for pimavanserin. FDA Approval